I lost, but we can still win

November 4, 2026

Dear friends,

I lost.

I contacted Karen Zaccor to congratulate her and Ellen Sherratt to thank her for a strong campaign. I respect them both. I'm writing this in between collecting the signs I placed near polling locations: one last way I tried to reach voters. I remain proud of what we accomplished: by spending just $1,200 in an entirely self-funded campaign, we received 17.6% of the vote in a race where over half a million dollars were spent. Nonetheless, I carry the weight of every voter who hoped for a different result.

When I decided to run, my goal was always to advocate for what is in our students' best interests. I made the decision to run, I devised the strategy, and I carried it out. This loss is mine and mine alone.

But this race was never about me. It was about the children still in an educational system that failed so many of us, and that continues to fall short of its responsibility to prepare them for a future they will transform.

That work does not end with an election. A child still needs to be screened early. To read by third grade. To find gifted and arts programs, and funding that reaches the classroom. Families still deserve honest, open budgets that put students first. The needs of our students did not change with this election, and so I will keep fighting. I will keep asking one question of every decision CPS makes: is it in our students' best interest?

To every supporter who gave your time, your trust, and your vote: thank you. You made this campaign what it was. We still have Local School Councils to strengthen, Board meetings to speak up at, and families to support. Every one of those is a chance to win for students, and none of them needs a seat on the Board.

If you want to stay involved, write to me at angelforcps@gmail.com.

This is a redirection, not an ending. Losing this election doesn't change my path, only where I walk it. I haven't given up, and I hope you'll walk it with me.